5 facts about blood that are hard to believe

1. Blood was part of the first plastic

In 1856, Francois Charles Lepage patented in France, one of the early prototypes of plastic, which was called bois durci. And in 1877 in the USA, William Dibble created its analogue is hemacite.

To produce the material, animal blood from slaughterhouses was mixed with sawdust, especially from poplar, and dyes were added to make it resemble natural wood. The mixture was then heated, stirred until the desired consistency was obtained, and placed in a mold. Under the influence of heat and pressure, the albumin in the blood coagulated and the mass turned into a dense, smooth material resembling wood and having similar properties.

To obtain 1 kilogram of bois durci, it took about 130 milliliters of blood.

Hemacite often used to imitate jet, a type of coal from which various crafts were made, such as inkwells, plaques, decorative bas-reliefs, door handles, picture frames and even objects furniture. They were durable and pleasant to the touch.

Later, with the spread of synthetic plastics, the “wood” from the blood became unnecessary and was forgotten. It's a pity, because this material is more eco-friendlythan modern plastics, and allows you to recycle waste from both the food and woodworking industries.

2. Blood can be used in construction

It’s hard to argue with the fact that the ancient Romans knew how to build: their aqueducts and amphitheaters still stand. This may be due to the fact that they added into its famous Roman concrete is the blood of livestock, most often bulls.

This technology was probably born from religious rituals, when the construction of buildings was accompanied by sacrifices to the glory of the gods. And then ancient architects noticed that blood makes concrete stronger. Her squirrels react with air bubbles inside the mixture, and the material becomes more resistant to cold and moisture.

Rome eventually fell, but his achievements were not forgotten. In 1805, Scottish engineer Thomas Telford built Pontcysyllte navigable aqueduct in north-east Wales (Great Britain). And what do you think? Two centuries after its opening, the aqueduct is still in use and is one of the busiest sections of the British canal network, handling around 15,000 boats a year.

Thomas Telford prepared the lime mortar for the construction of this object according to an ancient Roman recipe - with the addition of ox blood.

Not only in Britain, but also in the USA, bovine blood was added to building materials. In 1911, a certain Conrad Steinbaugh patented appropriate mixture to use when creating slabs for paving sidewalks.

And even nowadays they pop up periodically ideas build something interesting out of blood. For example, British architect Jack Munro developed a material for making bricks that contains blood, an antibacterial agent, an anticoagulant, sand and water. The result is a crimson-colored brick. And it is no worse than ordinary raw material. Munro indicatesthat its building material is cheaper and more environmentally friendly, and that its production requires less water, which is important for poor and developing countries.

3. Blood is not always red

We humans have red blood because our red blood cells filled with hemoglobin, an iron-containing protein that carries oxygen. Other mammals, as well as most amphibians and reptiles, also have red blood, which again is associated with hemoglobin.

But some marine animals, such as squid, octopuses and some sea worms, have blood blue color - because they carry oxygen with hemocyanin. This protein, unlike hemoglobin, contains copper, not iron. Spiders, slugs and snails can have the same blue blood.

And in the veins of some species frogs from Cambodia and lizards Green blood flows from the island of New Guinea. This is due to the presence of the bile pigment biliverdin.

Hemerythrin is another pigment that contains iron and carries oxygen. He gives the purplish-pink color of the blood of some mollusks, such as lamp shells and ascidians.

Some species of fish, like the Antarctic icefish, have no blood pigment at all. Genetic mutation deleted from their bodies hemoglobin, so their blood is now transparent and does not carry oxygen. The fish breathes directly through its skin.

Why, even people’s blood isn’t red. True, only for rare and dangerous diseases.

For example, in 2019, doctors in Germany were faced with a unique case. In a 39-year-old male patient they discovered blood that looks like milk due to extremely high levels of triglycerides (i.e. fats). Attempts to pump out and purify the blood failed because it was thick and simply clogged the medical equipment. This unusual phenomenon was caused by a combination of genetic factors, obesity and irregular use of diabetes medications. To save the patient's life, doctors had to resort to the good old medieval bloodletting.

4. Type 1 blood attracts mosquitoes the most

Have you ever noticed that mosquitoes bite you as if you had personally offended them, but they avoid your roommate? Perhaps it’s all because you have the first positive blood type.

This assumption nominated specialists from the Japanese Institute of Pest Control Technology. Under the supervision of scientists, volunteers with different blood groups immersed their hands in a specially prepared aquarium with mosquitoes. The results showed that most insects landed on those with the first positive one.

Researchers say that we humans secrete substances from our skin that can reveal our blood type. Bloodsuckers apparently sense such substances by smell, and this determines their taste preferences.

By the way, the insects had their proboscis amputated beforehand so that they could not bite the participants. So no one was harmed during the experiment. Except mosquitoes.

5. There is a place in your body where there is no blood

It would seem that blood is everywhere in the human body. Why do bones seem like bloodless things, but they contain red bone marrow, which produces red blood cells, and they permeated tiny vessels.

But there is a place in our body that is devoid of blood vessels and is surprisingly capable of performing its functions. This is the cornea - a convex transparent membrane that covers the front part eyes and protects it from external influences such as dust, germs and injury. It also plays an important role in focusing light on the retina, which allows us to see the world around us.

Blood vessels would reduce the transparency of the cornea and adversely affect the quality of our vision. That's why she does not contain vessels, and receives oxygen and nutrients directly from the internal moisture of the eye, as well as from tears that wet its surface.